Saturday, September 19, 2009

Older adults, exercise, and obesity

25% of older adults are obese

If you or someone you know are over the age of 65, you may be surprised to know that 25% of older adults are considered obese. This is a terrible percentage give the access to information that older adults have regarding nutrition and physical activity compared to 20 years ago when obesity rates were substantially lower.

The reason this is so important is the fact that obesity is linked to so many other chronic conditions that already affect older adults regardless of weight and body composition, including diabetes and high blood pressure just to name two.

Weight control is simple to understand, but hard to accomplish for some. Simply eat less than you expend and you will lose weight. Consider for example, what you might eat at a typical north American restaurant. You could easily consume over 2,000 calories in such a meal, sometimes, just in the appetizer. The average person would need to work for over two hours on a stationary bike to burn this off. Since this is unlikely, the better choice would be to avoid the 2,000 calories and eat something less calorie dense and more nutrient dense (salad with fresh veggies). As mentioned, simple, but not always easy.